: Political Earthquake In Iran: 4000 Reformist Candidates Banned

Looks like the earthquake that shook southern Iran last month has triggered a political earthquake in Tehran. Criticism of the unelected “Guardian Council”, who has ultimate authority over the elected legislature and executive branch, peaked after the earthquake, and perhaps after seeing the writing on the wall as the reform movement grows in strength, banned nearly half of the 8,200 candidates for Iran’s parliament, including 80 reformists currently serving. “These days hard-liners are very active and at the core of power, so they do what they wish,” says Hamid Reza Jalaiepour, a former editor of several banned reform newspapers. “They suppose that democracy comes from the West and is not a product of Islam, and use that interpretation to justify undemocratic behavior.” President Mohammad Khatami has threatened to quit his post unless the ban on the reformers is lifted, and many other reformists are pledging to join his exodus. The 80 incumbents (including Khatami’s brother) banned from running again have staged a sit-in inside the Parliament building, suggesting that the drastic actions may add fuel to the reform movement. While the streets have been quiet so far, many young Iranians who have been frustrated with the slow pace of democratic reforms in Iran (and who have proven quite savvy at organizing over the Internet) may take matters into their own hands, as they have done over the past years in defense of press freedoms. Even one of the creators of the Guardian Council, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, charged that conservatives are misusing the body for political ends. “I am really sad when I see this Guardian Council has been transformed into a body that violates the nation’s rights and disqualifies these people,” he said.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.